


A Lesson in Autonomy

by bisky



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-03-07 02:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3157106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisky/pseuds/bisky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the death of their mother Edward and Alphonse are sent away to Central City Academy for the Arts and Sciences to 'further broaden their hearts and minds' or y'know kiss tall goofy Xingese boys, either one really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is not my first ed/ling fic but it is my first au fic for them. i'm gonna try to be good about writing this but it'll probably be a while between updates, sorry... rating will go up in later chapters. enjoy!

There might have been a time when Central City Academy for the Arts and Sciences had been new. When the floors didn’t creak and the water ran without having to coax it out of the faucet. When the books were new and crisp and the radiators in the dorms didn’t make those god awful noises. 

This time though, was not now and as Edward waited in the foyer of what the pamphlet had described as ‘a campus that has stood the test of time’ with his arms crossed and a scowl across his face he thought about how this place had probably never been new. It just appeared one day in a random patch of land, every dust molecule already ingrained into its very existence. 

Edward hated dust. He hated waiting even more than he hated dust but the dust was what was really bothering him right now. Alphonse, who was standing next to him with a duffle bag hiked over his shoulder, sneezed once and then immediately apologized. 

“You don’t have to apologized for sneezing, Al.” Edward said as sullenly as he could. 

“I know, sorry.” Alphonse said, smiling gingerly. Edward almost said something about him apologizing for apologizing but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. A lot of things hadn’t been worth the effort lately. He wanted to be back home, in Risembool. Never would he have thought he would one day miss that place but here he was. Clenching and unclenching his fist that wasn’t holding the handle of a old fashioned wheel-less suitcase he thought about everything that had occurred to bring him to this spot on the marbled floor of Central City Academy. 

Up until three months ago his life had been great. Living quietly in sleepy Risembool without a care in the world. Like clockwork he would wake up. He would walk to school. He would come home and eat dinner with his loving mother and younger brother. Go to sleep and then the next day start the whole thing over again. That was the extent of his life, up until three months ago. 

That’s when his mother had gotten that cough. That stupid cough. He was sure he would be hearing that cough in his dreams for years to come. She would wave him off every time he asked about it. Make excuses to not have to go to the doctor, too far a walk, didn’t have time, and goddammit Edward it’s nothing. That’s just the way his mom was, she didn’t want to bother or inconvenience anyone, which, in a cruelly shakespearean twist of fate, would ultimately be her downfall. 

The doctor’s said it was stage four lung cancer that had spread to her liver. It was terminal. Edward couldn’t exactly remember anything they had said past that because he really felt like his brain was being put through a juicer. 

Alphonse cried. Mom cried. Alphonse and mom cried together. Edward didn’t cry until the funeral though. Somehow watching a box holding the person who took care of you for seventeen years being lowered six feet into the ground managed to become his breaking point. 

Alphonse had held him that night, despite it usually being the other way around. 

A click clacking echoed through the hallway and brought Edward’s attention back to the world of the living. A women in a blue pantsuit and dark curly hair thumbed through a stack of papers in her hands as she approached them. When she looked up and caught sight of them she flashed a smile that somehow said she knew their entire situation and oh how heartbroken these boys must be. 

“You’re Edward and Alphonse I presume?” Edward opened his mouth to answer but the women continued. “I’m Rebecca, the admissions director for the school. If you would come this way we can speak in private.” She gestured a hallway to their right lined with big oak doors. Both boys followed her as she spun on the balls of her feet and walked away quickly. Alphonse glanced over to Edward as he made a face and muttered something like ‘stop it’ under his breath. 

They entered a small office with a large desk covered in papers of all colors. Rebecca skirted around the edge of the desk and took her seat in the swivel chair behind it. She set the stack of papers on the table and Edward could immediately see their names scrawled across the top in messy handwriting that could only be his father’s. Immediately he rolled his eyes slightly and took a seat in one of the dark wooden chairs in front of the woman’s desk, sliding down as far as he could while still being able to sit up right. 

“Well first I would like to say my sincerest condolences regarding your mother.” She paused for a moment and looked back and forth at them both.  
They must have looked like hell Edward thought. Alphonse had been crying the entire train ride here, his face probably still red and splotchy. Edward on the other hand hadn’t slept for days and he could feel the large pieces of hair that had fallen out of his braid fall into his face as he slid further down into the chair. 

“It’s very hard to lose a parent at any age, but especially as young as you boys are. My heart goes out to you. It really does.” Edward let out a single gruff laugh and Alphonse shot him a dirty look. Rebecca paused again. “I’m sorry did I say something wrong?” 

“No, no. My brother’s just being difficult, you can go on.” Alphonse said in as pleasant a tone as he could manage, his voice still rough from the crying. Rebecca looked towards Edward, confused, before putting her hand on the stack of papers and continuing. 

“Well, I’ll start by saying that we usually do not allow admissions in the middle of the semester but seeing to the extreme circumstances that you boys have enrolled here under and your impressive transcripts, our board of directors has decided to allow it.”  
Edward looked up, disgusted. 

“Wonderful, I’m so glad.” He said, the sarcasm practically seeping through his teeth. 

“Excuse me?” Rebecca looked taken aback, her thick eyebrows knitting together. Edward continued.

“It’s just, I’m so glad that you all took a moment out of your busy schedules of eating caviar and discussing the circumference of your yachts, or whatever to decide that my brother and I could attend this hell hole.” By now he was sitting up and angrily brushed a strand of hair out of his face. 

“Edward!” Alphonse hissed. 

“Young man, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down.” She leaned forward onto placing her elbows on her desk. “Now I don’t know how they do things where you’re from but here at Central City Academy we have expectations for how you are to conduct yourself. Now I didn’t want to say anything because your father is a good friend of this school but if you continue to behave in this manner you will surely be expelled.” 

Edward could feel his face grow hot as she spoke and he resisted the urge to get up and storm out of the room right then and there. If he did anything to screw this up more it would surely affect Alphonse and he didn’t want that. As much as he resented this entire clusterfuck of a situation, hurting Alphonse was the last thing Edward wanted. He was all he had left after all. 

He gritted his teeth at the mention of his father and dropped his eyes to the floor. Alphonse shot him a look that meant ‘apologize right now or else’ and Edward decided to obey. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I just lost my temper.” He said reluctantly, avoiding eye contact with the woman. Rebecca nodded and proceeded to open a file in the pile. 

The rest of the meeting went smoothly and soon enough Edward and Alphonse found themselves in the hands of a tall slender student, named Winry with her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. She led them through the foyer and down the main hall past dozens of classrooms nestled under arches that reminded Edward of a churches. 

“This is my favorite place on campus, the garage. We have a full workshop so if you are interested in mechanics stop on by one day, we don’t bite.” Winry giggled playfully but when she saw that her comment had gotten no reaction from the two morose boys she continued on with the tour. Pointing out various different facilities and sprinkling in her own knowledge of the school’s history. 

Finally after tromping through a large grassy area they arrived at their residence for the foreseeable future, Grudner's Hall. Winry stopped short of the front steps to turn to them.

“This is as far as I can take you since girls aren’t allowed to go in the boy’s dorms during school hours.” She stopped and squinted against the sun and Edward could feel her eyes studying him. A moment later she spoke again “I’m sorry if this is weird or anything but did you two happen to live in Risembool when you were younger?” Edward and Alphonse exchanged a look before Alphonse answered her. 

“Uh, yeah, we did actually...how did you know?” Winry’s face lit up and she called out both their names before pulling them into a hug. Edward who had despite getting used to hugs from strangers in the months since his mom’s death was caught of guard. Despite her size she was strong and she kept them locked in her arms for a good minute. 

“I knew I recognized you two. It’s Winry, Winry Rockbell! I lived down the street from you.” Beaming as she pulled away, she proceeded to rock back and forth on her loafer clad feet. 

“Winry! Oh my gosh, I had totally forgotten that you went here.” Alphonse said, smiling the first genuine smile Edward had seen in months. 

“Yep, if you remember I’m a scholarship kid, anyway, this is so exciting! How have you guys been? You look,” She paused and pursed her lips slightly before continuing. “not so good if we’re being honest.” 

“Well our mom did just die.” Edward replied dryly. 

“Ed, honestly.” Alphonse said and Edward immediately felt guilty. Only Alphonse had the ability to make him feel bad about his social conduct. Winry’s face dropped as she continued to squint in the light of the sun. 

“I...I’m so sorry.” 

“No really Win, it’s okay. Brother’s just a little sensitive these days.” He was back to his fake smile that Edward had seen flashed at every single person since the funeral. He could tell because with this smile Alphonse’s eyes still looked sad. Edward wondered for a brief moment if that sadness would ever go away. 

“That’s okay, I completely understand. My parents died when I was young so if you ever need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry, I’m here. And I promise I won’t spew the same shit everyone else does. Scouts honor.” 

Edward looked up at her expecting to see the same pitying face that every other person in the world seemed to give them, but it wasn’t there. Instead she was wearing a genuine expression of sadness that seemed to hold every fake ‘poor kid’ uttered under someone’s breath since childhood. Was this the face of every kid who had a lost a parent? 

Abruptly a ringing echoed from the buildings surrounding them and people began to flood onto the lawn. Winry looked around quickly and back to them, the look of sadness having vanished. “Well I have to get to class. Come find me at lunch tomorrow and we can talk some more.” She stood idly for a second before pulling them both into another hug, this time more urgent. 

For a second Edward could feel himself soften under her grip. Thinking maybe he would let some of the salty tears, that seemed to always be somewhere in his system these days, out. But as soon as it had began it was finished and Winry pulled away. 

“Bye Al, bye Ed. I’ll see you both soon...I hope you like it here” She mustered a smile and a small wave before walking away. Edward watched her as she departed, remembering hot summer days spent together as kids. It seemed so far removed from where the were now that he could hardly recall. 

“I had thought that was her when she introduced herself but I wasn’t sure so I didn’t say anything.” Alphonse said rather quietly. 

“I had no idea.” Edward said, looking up at the stone building. “Is that a gargoyle?” 

Alphonse blew his blonde bangs out of his face and rolled his eyes jokingly. “Really Edward, stop trying to change the subject. We all knew you had a crush on her.” 

“I was nine and she was the only girl my age within a twenty mile radius, of course I had a crush on her.” He felt a smile dance on his lips but he suppressed it, instead opting to re-braid his hair. Alphonse though, did smile before patting Edward on the shoulder. 

“Let’s go inside.” He said before taking off for the large wooden doors so quickly that Edward had to trot to keep up. When they entered the building they were met with single spiral staircase; Edward whistled as he looked up to see it twist around before the bottom of it left the rest out of view. “Well I’m in room 107. I’m guessing that’s on the first floor.” Alphonse said still looking down at the piece of paper in his hand. Edward checked the number on his paper while absentmindedly rolling the key around in his hand.

“313.” He muttered. 

“Damn, I was hoping we would at least be on the same floor.” Alphonse looked up at him and frowned slightly. 

“Chin up, Al. Not even two floors of teenage boys can keep us apart, you know that.” Edward slung his arm around his brother. Now more than ever he wanted to stay close with Alphonse. Losing someone would do that to you he had figured out. 

Suddenly Alphonse pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms firmly around Edward’s neck. His breathed out of his nose and Edward could feel the breath hitting his skin as he encircled Alphonse as well. They stood like this for awhile in the small foyer of the hall; Alphonse’s face pressed into Edward’s neck. Edward ducked his face into Alphonse’s shoulder and for the first time since the night of the funeral felt tears catch in his lashes. 

“I’m sorry Al. I’m so sorry that this happened.” He felt himself say. Pulling back he realized that he had left wet marks on Alphonse’s shirt and apologized for it. Alphonse shrugged and smiled before wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. They exchanged a wistful look of mutual understanding that left Edward feeling more somber than he had felt before, if that was possible. And with that Alphonse turned to continue down the first floor hallway but before he could get too far he turned to Edward. 

“It’s not your fault Ed, acting like it is will just make you feel worse.” He blinked a few times, his green eyes focused intently on Edward’s face. Edward shifted uncomfortably. 

“Right. Text me when you get settled in?” 

Alphonse nodded and watched sadly as Edward ascended the staircase.

* * *

One look at Ling Yao’s room and you could tell exactly the kind of person he was. Beneath the piles of clothes, empty take out boxes, and crumpled up homework assignments there possibly could have been a floor at one point in time, but that time was a distant memory. 

One could ask why a boy who attended a school with a strict uniform policy had so many extra pieces of clothing. One could also ask why there were so many empty boxes of Xingese food littering the floor when there was a perfectly good cafeteria, that served three hot meals a day, just yards away. To those queries Ling would just shrug and flash a smile, as he usually did, and you wouldn’t really remember what you were asking in the first place.  
Thus was life for Ling Yao, heir to the ultimate mecha of capitalism and consumerism, Yao Industries. All he ever really needed was his smile and things went his way. Not to say that he let it go to his head...too much. That’s what Lan Fan was for. 

At this point in time Ling was sitting in the middle of one of the extra long twin beds, wearing a pair of oversized headphones incorrectly. He had just gotten out of the grind that was Ms. Hawkeye’s English class and was now enjoying his free period. Sweet sweet free period. Nonchalatnly he grabbed a fistfull of hard candy from the bag on his nightstand and placed them on the bedspread. 

Laying back on his pillow he thought about topics ranging from the homework he should have been doing to why people always said strange meat tasted like chicken. With one side of the headphones off his ear he could still hear the sound of the kid next to him talking to his parents on the phone. He closed his eyes and thought about setting an alarm so he wouldn’t sleep through his next class but immediately the idea seemed like too much trouble. All of the sudden the familiar click of the lock disturbed Ling and he opened one eye to look at the door suspiciously. More sound came from it as it became clear to Ling that someone was trying to unlock the door. 

“Who’s there?” He shouted, probably louder than he should have. There was a sigh from the other side of the door and some more rustling before the mystery person answered. 

“Uhm, my key’s not working. I swear I’m not trying to break into your room or anything.” The voice was muffled but Ling could tell it was a guy his age. As he took off his headphones and threw them off onto the bed he heard the sound of a loud thump outside and the person sighed again. Taking a look through the peephole he saw a boy dressed in all black. Ling resisted the urge to blurt out something like ‘who died?’ and unlocked the deadbolt and the privacy lock. 

The guy was rather short with pale skin and long blonde hair pulled into a loose braid. He looked up from the paper in his hand and his eye’s met Ling’s. The realization that the boys eyes were golden came and went and they both continued to stare at each other awkwardly. 

“Hi, uh...I’m Edward but you can call me Ed.” 

“Why do you have keys to my room?” Ling said as if he hadn’t heard Edward speak. 

“I’m your new roommate, I think. Unless I’m in the wrong place. Is this not 313?” He took a step back to look at the plaque next to the door. 

“No, this is 313.” Ling left the door open and walked back into the room. Running his hand through his ponytail he looked around at the state his living space was in. Any other person would probably have been embarrassed but Ling had been born without the capacity for embarrassment. Even so he felt like he should apologized for it, that’s what someone else would have done. “Sorry for the mess. I didn’t actually know I was getting a roommate until...well until you showed up.” 

By now Edward had brought his things into the room and set them down at the end of the bed opposite Ling’s. He sat down on the edge and let his head hang. “Yeah, coming here was kind of a last minute thing.” Edward mumbled. Ling sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall with his legs stretched out in front of him, continuing to roll the hard candy around in his mouth.

“I’m Ling by the way, Ling Yao.” He said casually. Edward looked up at him and performed the minimal requirements for a facial expression to be considered a smile. Despite the fact that he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, Ling thought Edward was attractive. He was slender with a short torso and long legs. His face was nice too, bow shaped pink lips, a round nose and Ling couldn’t quite tell but it looked like he had a line of freckles dusting his nose and cheeks. But the real kicker was the blonde hair that fell down his back in silky strands, yeah that was nice. Ling had a thing for blondes. 

Fuck. Ling man, you’re doing it again. 

Quickly he looked for something, anything, to put his focus on besides Edward and grabbed the object nearest to him which happened to be an empty hard candy wrapper. Instinctively he crushed the metallic wrapper between his fingertips and began to roll it around in his palm.

It had been ninth grade when Ling realized he liked boys the way he should have liked girls. It dawned on him in biology when he was partnered with a boy who he honestly couldn’t even remember the name of now. All he could really remember was he had pretty eyes and they grew a mustard sprout together. The height of romance for a freshman boy. It ended up not working out.  
Edward seemed to have not noticed Ling staring at him and Ling let out a sigh of relief before speaking again. 

“So, what brings you to Central City Academy, Ed?” Edward look up from the place on the floor he had been focusing. 

“Oh, uh. My dad sent my brother and I here...on scholarship.” His tone tightened when he said ‘dad.’ Ling crossed his legs under himself and bit the hard candy between his back molars. 

“That’s cool. I’ve been here since I was twelve, dad got tired of dealing with my brother and I and shipped us off to Amestris.”  
Edward furrowed his brows before leaning back on his hands. “Shipped you here? Where are you from?” 

“Xing.” 

“Wait, you said your last name was Yao, like Yao Industries?” 

“The one and only.” Ling grinned and unwrapped another hard candy, popping it into his mouth. It was always funny seeing people’s reactions when they found out he belonged to the family he did. 

If there was a real world equivalent to Acme from Looney Tunes, it would be Yao Industries. Ling didn’t know what the original purpose of the company had been but by now it manufactured everything from jumbo jets to medical equipment to the candy he was eating this exact moment.  
Edward’s eyes widened and he pushed his bangs out of face, but before he could answer there was a loud knocking at the door. Just from the intensity of the knock Ling knew who it was. 

“It’s open.” He called out. The person pushed the door open but it snagged on a pair of jeans and refused to open any further. There was a sigh. 

“Ling, how many times have I told you to clean your damn room.” 

“Are you his mom or something?”

“Might as well be.” 

Ling rolled his eyes and shifted on the bed as the two entered. “That would make her your mom too, genius.”  
Lan Fan with her arms crossed over her chest and Greed with both his fists shove in his tight jean pockets, stood in the open space by the ends of the beds. Lan Fan was dressed in her uniform, her hair pulled into a loose bun with the shorter pieces that wouldn’t reach falling down around her face. She eyed Edward suspiciously. Greed wasn’t wearing his uniform (but when was he ever) and had his hair pulled into a ponytail exactly like Ling’s. 

“Who’s this?” Lan Fan said, accusingly. 

“That’s Edward, my new roommate.” Ling turned to Edward. “Ed, this is my twin brother Greed and my bodyguard Lan Fan.” 

“I’m not your bodyguard!” Lan Fan shouted, accidentally stamping her foot into a styrofoam container as Greed cackled in the background. She muttered ‘gross’ under her breath and wiped some week old noodles off the bottom of her boot. 

“Greed, what class are you skipping this time?” Ling asked. Greed flopped down on the bed next to him and grabbed three or four candies from the pile. 

“Gym.”. 

“Coach Armstrong’s gonna kill you.” Lan Fan commented, having leaned back against the desk that was suppose to be Edwards.

“Wait, which one?” Ling said. 

“The scary one.” 

“More like the sexy one.” 

“Oh please, Greed. She could snap you in half.” 

“I want her to.” 

While all this was happening Edward just stared at his feet. Ling thought about trying to include him in the conversation, but from the slant of his shoulders as they hung forward to the purple hue that brimmed his eyes Ling decided that inclusion was not what Edward wanted right now. 

“If you guys are going to continue this, can you please do it some place else. My free period is almost over and Ed want’s to settle in without listening to you two.” Ling said, jumping off the bed to dig through a pile of papers in an attempt to find his homework for chemistry class. 

“I was getting bored anyway,” Greed grabbed more hard candies from the bag on Ling’s nightstand. “Nice meeting ya, Ed.” 

“Yeah, it was nice to meet you Edward. I’m sorry you ended up with him for a roommate.” Lan Fan said, wrapping her fingers around her backpack straps. Edward snapped out of his fixation on the floor and smiled half heartedly. 

“It was nice meeting you too.” He answered. They filed out of the room, neglecting to close the door behind them. The room went quiet and filled with the sounds of Ling hastily gathering all his things for his next class. 

“Sorry, Ed. I gotta run, Mr. Marcoh’s strict about tardies.” Edward looked up at him and nodded. 

“Yeah, sure.” Stuffing one more piece of paper in his backpack, Ling grinned at Edward and took off. The echo of the slamming door reverberated in both their eardrums.


	2. Chapter 2

It was seven. In the morning. 

“It’s seven in the morning.” Edward moaned, having forgotten for a moment that he was not in his own bed and it was not his mother opening the blinds at seven am. 

“Yeah, we’re running late.” 

Still in a state of hazy dreaminess Edward squeezed his eyes shut and rolled onto his back. He had a dream and it had not been good. Something about his mother asking why he couldn’t have saved her over and over again. He shivered remembering it. 

“What exactly are we running late to?” Ling continued to rustle around the room doing god knows what as Edward rubbed his eyes sleepily. 

“Breakfast. If we get there later than 7:30 the bacon will be cold.” Ling said, as he surveyed the room, looking for something. 

Edward squinted and rolled back over. Classes didn’t start till nine and this idiot was getting him up at asscrack of dawn so they could get bacon? “I don’t eat breakfast.” He mumbled pulling the comforter up to his chin. Ling froze from what he was doing and looked at Edward. 

“Look Ed, there aren’t a lot of things to enjoy at this school, but bacon is one of them.” As he was speaking, Ling ran his long, thin fingers through his hair repeatedly. Edward remained silent. “Everyone’s required to go to breakfast anyway, you might as well come with me” He looked over his shoulder and grinned, which Edward ignored. 

“Okay, I’m getting up.” Angrily, Edward threw the sheets off himself and pressed his feet to the chilly wooden floor. He was not a morning person, he had never been a morning person, nor would he ever be a morning person. Morning people were dead to him. 

The showers were empty except for one other person, which both relieved and infuriated Edward. He wasn’t sure he could handle being around so many people this early in the morning but being woken up and forced to leave his bed at this time wasn’t fun either. After showering, Edward brushed his teeth and retreated to his room where Ling was trying to knot his neck tie. 

“You’re doing it wrong.” Edward said after watching him struggle for a few minutes. 

“What?” Ling swung around from his place in front of the mirror. 

“You’ve been going here how long and you can’t tie a tie?” He finished pulling on his pants and walked over to Ling. 

“Lan Fan usually does it for me.” Pausing, Edward looked up at him and raised an eyebrow but Ling just smiled goofily back. Edward laced his fingers through the lopsided knot and yanked it loose. This guy really was an idiot. “This is kinda strange...a guy doing another guy’s tie.” Ling said. 

“Don’t make it weird.” Edward tried to conceal his blushing. He hadn’t thought about it until Ling pointed it out but he could have just shown him how to do it. And Edward was shirtless. Ling smiled anyway. 

“You’re on your tiptoes.” Ling pointed out before Edward threaded the fabric through a loop and pulled it tight. 

Edward rolled his eyes and walked back to his bed, where a blazer and dress shirt were laid out. Slowly he put on the dress shirt and fumbled with the buttons. His head felt cloudy today, as it had many days since his mother’s death. 

In his absentmindedness, Edward picked up the blazer and ran his fingers over the emblem sewn onto the right breast. It was shaped like a crest with a chimera creature surrounded by branches embroidered on it in shiny emerald and gold thread. Across the bottom was a backwards c merged with a correct facing c, the insignia that Edward had seen on the top of every document from the school’s office.

For some reason this made Edward think of his father. The man that had been absent most of Edward’s life. The man who to this day sent them drugstore teddy bears on their birthdays and didn’t even have the basic decency to come to their mother’s funeral. Just thinking about him made Edward’s hands shake with hanger. He curled one into a fist around the fabric and then hastily threaded his arms through the sleeves. 

“Let’s go.” Edward barked, throwing one backpack strap over his shoulder. Ling looked up from his place crosslegged on his desktop, mouth full of yogurt from the mini fridge. Edward paused. “If you have food in here why did you get me up at seven am to go to breakfast?” 

Ling swallowed before shrugging and hopping off the desk. They made their way through the hallway; Ling finishing off the last of his yogurt. When they reached the bottom of the stairs Ling stuffed the empty carton and silver spoon in his backpack and pulled out a thermos full of some thick red mixture. He started drinking it and Edward decided to not ask what it was in fear of the answer. 

“Ed!” A voice called from behind them and Edward swung around to see Alphonse running down the first floor hall towards them. Stopping short of them, Alphonse smiled brightly and pulled his messenger bag over his head and across his body. “I can’t believe you’re up this early, Ed. I fully expected to be banging on your door at 8:55.” He paused and looked over to Ling. “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. I’m Alphonse, Edward’s younger brother.” 

“Ling.” Ling answered, mouth still full with the red liquid. 

“I didn’t know you had already made friends, Ed.” 

“He’s my roommate.” Edward replied, fixing his tie. “Speaking of roommates, did you ever meet yours?”   
Alphonse face dropped and his eyes wandered to the floor. “He...he’s okay I guess.” 

“Wow, If you don’t like him he must be pretty bad. What’s his name?” They moved to the side so a group of boys could make their way out the doors. 

Alphonse worked the ball of his dress shoes into the floor anxiously. 

“Envy.” As soon as he said this Ling choked on his drink and little dribbles of it went flying down his chin. 

“You’re roommates with Envy?” Ling wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes wide. Alphonse nodded meekly.   
“Yeah...”   
“Why, what’s wrong with him?” 

Alphonse was the type to always want to see the best in people, he could have a gun to his head and he would still try to argue that the one doing it was a nice guy with a family and dreams. So the idea that this Envy was bad enough to make even Alphonse uncomfortable thoroughly confused Edward. 

“He’s the most annoying little fucker you’ll ever meet.” Ling laughed and took another sip of his concoction.

“He’s...something.” Alphonse said before continuing out the door and down the steps. They followed him and Ling eventually took the front to lead them to the mess hall. 

If Edward hadn’t just woken up he would probably think the campus looked beautiful this time of day. The newly risen sun breaking through the tops of the buildings and spraying the dewy grass with orange tinted light, crap like that. He squinted in the light of the morning as they passed under a large arch and into the hall. 

It had already started filling up despite the early time. Ling expertly weaved through the crowd and soon enough Edward and Alphonse lost sight of him. They stood awkwardly in the middle of a large isle and Edward looked up to the high arched ceiling. It was a nice room, lots of light and the floors were wood instead of tile or concrete like the schools in Resembool. He still missed it there. 

“Ed, Al, over here!” Out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw a flash of blonde hair and turned to see Winry waving at them from the very end of the row. She had her body completely laid across the table to see around the people standing in front of her and it made Edward smile a little to see that she hadn’t changed. Winry was sitting with another girl who smiled at them as they walked over and took seats on the opposite side. 

“I’m so glad I found you guys.” Winry said sitting back on the bench. “Oh, I’m sorry! This is Paninya,” She said pointing to the muscular girl with dark hair and skin sitting next to her. 

“Nice to meet you, Paninya.” Alphonse said, smiling politely while Edward simply nodded in her general direction. 

“Paninya, these were the guys I was telling you about, Edward and Alphonse Elric. We were good friends growing up.” Paninya nodded and grinned at them. Unlike Winry and most of the other girls at the school she was wearing slacks instead of a skirt; she pushed up the sleeves on her sweater and rested her elbows on the table. 

“You better not make a move on Winry. I’m not fond of competition.” Winry shot her a look but Edward and Alphonse continued to stare blankly. It took Edward a moment to fully comprehend what Paninya had said. He liked to think he was pretty quick but the realization that Winry was dating someone, much less this girl, was a little too much to take. 

“I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone.” Winry hissed. 

“Come’on Win, everyone already thinks we’re the school lesbians. Might as well embrace the title.” Winry rolled her eyes and blew her bangs out of her face indignantly before Paninya looped one arm around her waist. “So Ed, Al, how’re ya liking CCA so far?”   
Edward and Alphonse exchanged glances before Alphonse answered. “It’s great! The campus is beautiful.” He sounded cheerier than he had in weeks. It could have just been an act but some part of Edward hopped that maybe even if things were still dreary for himself, maybe they were turning around for Alphonse. It would be nice, to have his brother’s regular self back. 

“Wait, so you two...are...together?” It wasn’t until he had said it that Edward realized he was interrupting but he continued anyway. 

“Honestly Edward, you act like you’ve never seen a gay person before.” Alphonse chimed hoisting his bag onto the table. Before Edward could answer there was a sudden loud squeal and a short girl with jet black hair came running up to them. 

“Oh my gosh Winry, who are your new friends?” The girl slid onto the bench quickly and settled rather close to Alphonse. She had wide dark brown eyes and her hair was pulled into two buns with the excess running down her back in braids. Edward guessed she was Xingese but from a different part than say, Ling.   
Paninya let out a sigh but Winry smiled even wider. 

“These are my friends from when I was little, they just moved here from Resembool.” The girl beamed and moved in to Alphonse’s side. 

“You didn’t tell me the boys from Resembool were so cute!” 

“Hey kid, take it down a notch.” Paninya said, removing her arm from Winry’s waist and unwrapping a piece of bubblegum from her bag. Winry just smiled. 

“Ed, Al, this is Mei.” Again Al greeted her as Edward nodded towards her. She seemed rather taken with Alphonse, her eyes practically sparkling as she asked what grade they were in. Edward began to answer but shut up when he realized that that question, while crafted to seem like it was directed at both of them, actually wasn’t. 

“I’m a sophomore.” Alphonse said. 

“What a quinky dink, I’m a sophomore too!” Mei practically squealed. 

At this point Edward decided zoning out of the conversation was acceptable and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The screen lit up with and alert him of a missed call from his dad and he immediately regretted the zoning out. What could his dad possibly have to say to him? Edward had not had an actual conversation with his father since the age of ten but he could more or less imagine how it would go. Grimacing, he locked his phone. He didn’t have to think about that man right now. 

“So who are you two roommates with?” Winry asked resting her elbows on the wood of the table. 

“Ling Yao?” 

“Good luck being roommates with him.” Mei had leaned across the table and began to twirl one of her braids around her finger. 

“Mei, be nice!” Winry barked. 

“What?! It’s really not his fault, it’s in his blood.”

Winry sighed and turned away from Mei and back to the boys. “Mei’s family runs Chang Corp. It’s in direct competition with Yao Industries back in Xing.” 

“Wow! You’re practically royalty in Xing.” Alphonse said. The conversation continued like this for some time until Edward looked up and the previously bustling mess hall was only occupied by them and and a few stragglers. 

“Well Pan and I better get going. Do you guys need help finding your classes?” Winry asked as she rose to put her plate and utensils in the bin next to the trash. 

“No, you go guys go to class. We’ll be fine, I think.” Edward muttered rubbing away the sleepiness caught between his lashes. 

“Are you sure?” Winry asked but by this time Paninya had already grabbed her hand and was leading her down the aisle. She smiled and waved briefly before turning to chase the other girl out the door. Mei ran after them but before exiting the doors she turned to Edward and Alphonse and shouted,

“Welcome to Central City, I really think you’ll like it here.” 

* * * 

There was a certain point at 2:45ish in the afternoon when, if the conditions were right, and Ling placed his binder on his desk just so, he could get the sunlight to shine directly off Mr. Miles sunglasses and into Lan Fan’s eyes. She would hough indignantly and hunch herself over a little more so as to not miss a single word of Mr. Miles philosophy bullshit for her notes (which would also serve as Ling’s notes the night before a test.)

Today though she had outsmarted him by sitting across the classroom, away from the piercing rays reign of terror, and leaving an empty space in the desk next to Ling’s. When he glanced at her she stuck her tongue out and went back to copying the assigned reading off the board.

Ling frowned and slid into the desk. He could have moved across the room just to bother Lan Fan but he had been working on carving a picture of Mr. Miles with his sideburns gouging someone’s eyes out onto the desk for the past week. It was to be his sistine chapel. 

“Class settle down.” The rustling of bodies and papers died down as Mr. Miles low voice traveled through the space. “We have a new student joining us today, this is...” He trailed off and looked pointedly at the boy standing next to his desk. 

“Edward.”

“Everyone give a warm welcome to Edward and get him caught up on our curriculum so far. Alright now on to last night’s reading...” At this point Ling tuned out from whatever Mr. Miles was saying. He caught Edward’s eyes and discreetly gestured to the chair next to him. Edward looked at him blankly for a few seconds before Mr. Miles spoke, 

“Edward, you can take a seat now.” 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry.” Nervously, he ducked his head down and b-lined for the seat next to Ling. “You’re lucky you’re the only person I know in here, I don’t like sitting at the back.” Edward said quietly as he pulled a textbook out of his backpack. Ling laughed a little and whispered ‘nerd’ under his breath before going back to his carving. 

Mr. Miles began lecturing about essentialism or some bullshit like that and eventually turned the class over to free discussion. It was suppose to be a time for reflection on the lesson that day but Ling always figured Mr. Miles just did it so he didn’t have to teach for the rest of the period. Ling set down his pencil and turned to Edward but as he did someone approached them from ahead. 

Ling was startled when he looked up to see Lust, aka student council president, aka devil incarnate, standing in front of his desk. She smiled tightly with her blood red lips and brushed her hair behind her back as if she was waiting for him to speak. 

“Hey, Lust,” Ling said bitterly. 

“Awh, Ling, don’t be like that. How many times do I have to tell you that it’s not student council’s fault the slushie machine’s were removed.” 

“What do you want Lust?” To keep from looking at her Ling looked down at his textbook, which was open to a random page with a picture of a James Pollock painting printed on it. 

The fact was no one really liked student council. Basically just a group of five snobby high schoolers with the board of directors in their pocket and some kind of vendetta against happiness. Ling was far from their biggest fan, ever since they started a campaign against Xingnese food in the mess hall. Oh and almost got mini fridges banned from campus. Assholes. 

“I just wanted to introduce myself to our new student. Hi, I’m Lust.” Lust’s lips spread into a broad smile and she extended her hand in Edward’s direction. Edward looked from the hand in his face and up to her before shaking it reluctantly. 

“Edward.” He replied before pulling away to brush his bangs out of his face. 

“What a nice name. Well, Edward I just wanted to give you a warm welcome to Central City and tell you that if you ever need anything student council is at your ser-” She said before she was turned to address someone calling to her from a few desks away. 

“Hey, hoe, get over here! You said you would help me with my algebra II homework.” 

“Language!” Mr. Miles called from his desk. 

“I’m coming, Envy.” She turned back around, her cheeks flushed. “Well I have to go. I’ll see you both next period.” With a quick wave she sauntered back to her desk. 

Edward turned to him, his thick brows furrowed. “What was that about?” 

“Lust, she’s student council president. Also probably the biggest bitch on campus.” Checking his phone Ling saw that class was about to end and started packing up his stuff. “The fat guy and the androgynous guy,” He pointed to the people surrounding her across the room. “that’s Gluttony and Envy, also on student council. Also huge assholes.” 

“Wait, Envy? That’s Alphonse’s roommate.” 

“Oh yeah. I didn’t say anything this morning but give him till winter break, he’ll be begging for a room change.” As Ling stood up and put one shoulder of his backpack on, Edward did the same with a sour look on his face. 

“Fuck man, this place just keeps getting better doesn’t it.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is much shorter than the other ones and also only has ed's pov because after this a time skip will be happening and i didn't have anything else to include in the first part of the story. i've been very busy but things have settled down and i will probably be updating more often if i can find the energy and inspiration. again sorry that i'm so bad about this but i will continuing writing it.

The next few days proceeded with all the normality of boarding school life. Although Edward was realizing that maybe Ling was a little bit- no -a lot a bit of a fucking weirdo. He liked food. A lot. He snored. Loudly. He made stupid jokes, talked with his mouth full, and left everything he was not immediately using on the floor. At first it had really annoyed Edward, he had even complained about it to Winry a couple of times but hearing from Al what living with Envy was like, well...things could be worse. 

Like his mom being dead and his dad shipping him off to boarding school. 

The classes at Central City were on a higher level than the schools back in Resembool which excited Edward as much as it could at this point. Edward had always been intelligent and good at school. Most of his classes back home had been too easy, so having a place to actually engage him was nice. Also kept him pretty busy, he hadn’t had any scary dreams since that first night. 

Most of the teachers were nice. Except for Mr. Mustang. That guy was a dick. 

At this particular moment the bell from lunch had just rung and Winry was babbling on about her mechanic class as they walked through the courtyard. Winry was exactly the same as she had been as a child. Hard headed, outspoken and very caring. She noticed when Edward was feeling particularly shitty and left him alone aside from a smile or quick hug. Which he appreciated, people doting on him wasn’t his thing. 

Edward turned to her and interrupted what she was saying. “I’m sorry but the entire time we’ve been talking you’ve had grease on your face and it’s starting to annoy me.” 

“Oh my god, Ed! How could you just let me walk around like this?” She quickly started to rub her cheek. 

“Other side.” Winry grumbled and continued walking while rubbing her other cheek. Edward followed. 

“Edward!” A voice called after him, and turning around he saw Lust, Envy and Gluttony heading towards him. Winry stopped and gave him a very weird look before speaking.

“How do you know student council?” She said in a low voice, her brows knitting together. 

“I don’t.” She pursed her lips and looked at Edward and then back at the student council heading their way. “Just go ahead. I’ll find you.” Winry nodded tentatively and gave student council one last glance before waving and taking off. 

Edward stood at the edge of the courtyard as the three made their way to him. He had barely given the student council a second thought since his first day when Lust had introduced herself and didn’t know much past what Ling had told him. He had a few classes with the seniors in it and Ling’s brother, Greed used to be on it before they kicked him out. Selim Bradley was a freshman but he had seen him around campus and knew that his father was the headmaster of the school. Overall student council, despite the fact that everyone seemed to hate them, didn’t have that big of an impact on his life.

But here they wear heading his direction, looking as menacing as always. Lust and Envy walked side by side with Gluttony trailing behind them, trying to keep up. As they got closer Lust smiled at Edward but Envy continued to look disgusted, as he did most of the time. 

“Edward, I’m so glad we caught up with you.” Lust as she stopped. Edward didn’t say anything as Lust waited for him to reply. 

“You’re pretty short, you know that?” Envy said, breaking the awkward pause. 

“Um...okay? Is that what you came over here to tell me?” Edward said. He didn’t mean to be short but he was hungry and maybe it was Ling rubbing off on him but he really didn’t want to miss out on that pie in the mess hall. 

“No, it’s not. Don’t pay attention to Envy. He’s an idiot.” Lust said. 

“Hoe, say that to my face.” 

“You’re an idiot.” Lust said turning her head in Envy’s direction. 

“Can we have lunch now?” Gluttony said from behind them. 

“I’m with him.” Edward said and Lust groaned before continuing. 

“Okay, the reason we came over here was because student council has deliberated and we would like you to fill the empty seat on our bench.”

Edward stared at her for a few seconds.

“Our last member dropped out due to some unfortunate circumstances and you seem like the perfect fit.” 

“What about me makes you think I would be good at that kind of shit?” They all seemed taken aback by his question and looked at each other confused. 

“Uh well, you-” Envy started but Edward cut him off. 

“Look, I appreciate the offer and all but I really don’t have the time for that,” Or the energy to deal with everyone hating him. “but, y’know, thanks anyway.” He said as he waved awkwardly and backed up, eventually knocking into someone. 

“Hey! Watch out.” 

“It’s just Ed, Lan fan.” A familiar voice said and Edward sighed a breath of relief when he turned and see that he had bumped into Ling and Lan Fan. “Hey, why are you talking to student council?” 

“No reason, just keep walking.” Edward whispered. Ling cocked his head. ‘Come on Ling’ Edward thought ‘you’re an idiot but not that big of an idiot.’ But apparently he was because Lan Fan seemed to have understood and spun Ling’s body around, grabbed Edward’s arm and led them down the hallway.


	4. chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so....i know it's been more than year since this last updated but i'm trying to get back to writing it because it's one of my favorite things i've written

Snow reminded Edward of his mother. He could vividly remember Trisha’s silhouette against the lily white landscape as she beckoned him outside. That it wouldn’t hurt, it was just frozen water, silly! 

Looking at campus now, covered in snowy powder, it looked nothing like it had that early fall day when they had arrived months ago. Often Edward would think back to those early days at the school. So much had changed and so much was still the same. Sitting in the common room while Ling showed you and your brother how he could make chocolate milk go through one nostril and out the other did that sort of thing.

Being roommates with Ling, he had come to learn, was frustrating, infuriating even. There’s nothing like incense ash inside your socks and the sound of a microwave going at midnight to drive you insane. Being friends though, that was actually pretty nice. Ling had this way of just knowing what Edward needed. Whether it was being left alone or a good laugh or some weird snack from his carpet bag mini fridge. 

He still had nightmares though and when he woke up in a cold sweat muttering things about being powerless Ling always seemed to just know. He never said anything though. Just offer him some poptarts, a juice box, and to sit on Edward’s bed whispering quiet quips about how Mei Chang was going to kidnap Alphonse when he wasn’t paying attention.

At this moment Edward and Alphonse were making their way back to Grudner’s hall after dinner. It was only seven or so but the sun had long retreated to bring day to other parts of the world and Alphonse shivered slightly as they walked along the brick path. 

“You okay, Al?” Edward asked. Even though he knew Alphonse was cold natured, even though he knew the hall they were walking through was drafty, the slight shake of Alphonse’s body still put him on edge. “I can give you my jacket.” He said, already starting to pull his arms out of the sleeves. 

“No! I’m fine, Ed.” He paused as Edward continued to look concerned. “Honestly.” 

“I’m just looking out for you, you know that.” Edward said stuffing his hands back in his pockets. He knew it bothered Alphonse, how he had been worrying about his health since their mother’s death. Maybe more than the fact that he didn’t talk at the lunch table or stayed in his dorm room during every free time. But he would rather bother Alphonse then be lowering him into the ground. Which, yes, Edward did know was quite the logic leap but his left brain wasn’t exactly functioning at full capacity right now. 

His brother smiled slightly and they continued walking in a comfortable silence until Alphonse cleared his voice to speak. 

“So, I talked to dad.” Edward stopped walking immediately and Alphonse did the same when he noticed Edward had and turned to him. “What?” 

“You...talked to him? Like had a full conversation? I find that hard to believe.” Edward sneered. 

“He’s back in Amextris. He wants to see us, Ed. Want’s to fix things.” Alphonse’s fingers curled around the books he was holding to his chest and looked at the floor. Edward scoffed. 

“I don’t fucking care what he wants, Al! When you abandon your family to soul search in another country and become a fucking charity doctor, what you want ceases to matter!” His raised voice echoed through rest of the hall and some kids standing at the other end stopped what they were doing to look in their direction.

“Lower your voice, Edward.” Alphonse said, just barely clenching his jaw. The slight waver in his voice and stance of his body reminded Edward of being chastised by his mother when he was younger. She had always said Alphonse took after her and Edward took after their father. They stood there for a few tense moments as a pair of students passed by. 

“Edward, I wasn’t going to say anything because, well, it’s not my place to police how you handle your grief but...It’s been four months. You have to let some of this...this resentment go. Not just towards dad. You’re angry with the entire world and you don’t show it so outwardly anymore but I know it’s still inside you, I can see it in everything you do.” Alphonse paused to let Edward say something but it was just too much to take in right now. So he continued to stand exactly where he was as he pulled his scarf up a bit to cover his chapped lips. “I know you miss her. I do to, you have no idea.” 

“Then fucking act like it!” Edward raised his voice sharply but after hearing it echo through the hall he looked around to make sure no one heard him and lowered it again. “I’m doing the best I can. Everything I do reminds me of her and I’m worrying every moment that I’m going to lose you too but you...you don’t even want to talk about her!” 

“I’m trying to move on!” Alphonse voice cracked and he stepped backwards, as if he was startled by himself.

For the first time in months, maybe since the funeral, Edward felt his eyes brim with tears. How could he say that? She was the person that gave birth to them, raised them and kissed them goodnight. How could he possibly move on from her? 

As quickly as possible Edward rubbed the hot tears from his eyes and crossed his arms. A flurry of snow blew in their direction and caught in the collar of Alphonse’s coat. He shivered slightly and looked at Edward sadly. 

“Dad’s probably going to call you soon, I just wanted you to know.” Alphonse said, but Edward was gone before he could finish. 

As he pressed through the cold air he felt himself shake slightly but not from the wind chill. He didn’t like fighting with Alphonse, he hated it. The hurt look on Alphonse’s face and the waver in his voice was going to be stuck in Edward’s head for the rest of the night, maybe longer. 

When he got to the wonderful warm heat of the dorms he made his way straight to the common room. The common room wasn’t much to look at. It sat below ground and consisted of a pool table, several chairs and a love seat (heavy on the love) gathered around a TV, and a small kitchen area in the corner. 

There were slim windows that let just the tiniest bit of light in but it was dark outside so the only light was supplied by the overhead one. No one was there, winter break started tomorrow and most students were already on their way home for the holidays. The only exceptions of course being the one’s who had no home to go to like him and Alphonse, and the ones who would have to travel too far, like Ling and the other Xingnese kids. 

Edward could feel the emptiness on campus most in the dorms. What was usually crowded with kids in their plaid and loafers was replaced by complete and utter silence. He sat his satchel and coat on one of the chairs and collapsed into the love seat. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, Edward lost himself in thought that turned into sleep. 

The sleep didn’t last long before he was waken up by the ringing of his phone in his pocket. Too disoriented to check who it was calling he pressed answer without thinking. 

“Edward!” The male voice sounded surprised as it exclaimed his name and Edward immediately regretted picking up the phone. “I didn’t expect you to answer.” There was a long pause as Edward debated whether to hang up the phone or throw it across the room. 

“Edward...Ed, are you there?” It was Hohenheim. His father. The last person in the world he wanted to talk to. Whose calls he had been avoiding for months. And there he was, on the other end of the phone, calling him Ed like everything was fine. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Edward said. 

“Excuse me?” 

“I haven’t seen you in four years. Mom died and you couldn’t even make it to her funeral. And now you call me, you call Alphonse and spew some shit about how you want to ‘make things right’? Like we’re going to sit down over fucking brunch and work it out?” He felt the ferocity in his body start to rise and he wanted nothing but to reach through the phone and punch his father in the face. 

“It’s not like that, son-” 

“Do not fucking call me that.” 

“Edward. I know that I haven’t been there for you and brother,” Edward scoffed and gripped the phone tighter. 

“Not there for us? MOM DIED! We watched her die! We needed you! And you couldn’t even afford to come home. To be with your wife in her last days. She swore you were coming, that you would come home and we would all be a family, if just for a little while.” 

“Edward, I-” 

“No! You don’t get to say your peace and move on. You deserve to live with the guilt. Leave Al alone. Don’t fucking call again.” 

* * * 

Ling loved winter in Amestris. They didn’t get snow like this where he lived in Xing. The snow they got in Xing was hard and icy. The snow here, it was like parmesan cheese without the smell. Fluffy and perfect. He had spent many a winter break playing in it with Lan Fan and Greed. It was a fourteen hour flight to where they lived in Xing and his father didn’t find it vital that they come home just to turn around and fly back to Central City. That might have hurt other kids feelings but for Ling it just meant more Amestris winter. 

He paused the Food Network to check the clock. It was already seven and Edward long should have been out of his last class of the semester by now. They had been planning on walking into town with Lan Fan and Alphonse and seeing that new movie with the robots fighting godzilla. 

Ling had enjoyed living with Edward these past few months. Sure it was annoying waking up in the middle of the night to him having an anxiety attack and sure he wondered what had happened to make Edward so sullen most of the time but it didn’t hinder their friendship. He liked spending the evenings in their room watching tv or talking shit about Mr. Mustang. Prick.

Sometimes, with a little convincing, he could even get Edward to come with him to parties at the college in town. Even if most of the time it ended up with Edward practically carrying him into the dorm after hours, hoping that the RA wouldn’t write them up.

Edward was smart. Really smart. And surprisingly insightful when it came to things that didn’t involve him. But Ling was smart too, smart enough to know that deep down he liked Edward in a way that Edward would never like him. He didn’t dwell on it though. 

Suddenly there was a massive knocking at the dorm door. So hard that Ling was worried the door was about to be kicked in. He waited a second to see if whoever it was would just go away but then he heard a familiar voice bellowing outside. 

“Ling! I left my key in there and I swear to god if you don’t open this door right now I’ll unplug your mini fridge in the middle of the night!” Ling would usually have let him sit there and bang on the door for a few more minutes to piss him off but Edward sounded super serious so he stood up and headed for the door. There was some more banging and Edward cursing.

“I’m coming, calm down!” When opened the door, Edward immediately pushed past him and threw his bag on the ground next to his bed. “Who pissed in your mess hall mush today?” Ling said. Edward spun around and gave him a death stare so scary Ling felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“Not in the fucking mood, Ling.” Edward barked as he yanked his tie undone. Ling had seen Edward angry about everything under the sun but never this angry. Edward stripped himself of his dress shirt and fell face first into his bed. He then proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs, it was muffled by the pillow but it was still loud as fuck. Ling hadn’t moved from his place at the door, watching the whole scene unfold. 

With care he headed over to his bed and sat gingerly on the edge. Edward had a temper like no one he had ever seen, but it had to be something serious to make him this angry. They were quiet for a while and then Ling realized that Edward had begun to cry quietly into his pillow. 

“You gonna come up for air any time soon?” Ling said, trying to defuse the situation. He had truly prepared for his comment to be met with more anger, but Edward just rolled over and gasped for breath. His face was red, blotchy and tear stained. “So...you want to tell me what happened or is this gonna be another late night juice box situation?” 

“Before I came here, my mother died. She had a fast acting form of cancer; the doctors couldn’t do anything to help her. I couldn’t do anything to help her.” 

“Ed...” Ling whispered. Of all the things that could have happened to make Edward the way he was, Ling hadn’t expected this. 

“My dad, he was never around. Left when Al and I were young to do charity work and just...never came back. Not even for her funeral.” The way he said ‘charity work’ had heavy air quotes around it. “And now he’s trying to reach out to us to fix things. Al of course believes him, but I...” Edward trailed off and buried his face in his hands, letting more tears escape. It was a weird for Ling to see Edward being this candid with him. He went over to Edward’s bet and climbed onto it, sitting cross legged on the scratchy comforter. 

“My mom died in a freak accident when Greed and I were twelve and it was obvious my father wanted nothing to do with us after that. He sent us here so he wouldn’t have to be reminded of what he saw as a failure. Even when we go back for the summer he doesn’t even let us stay with him. We stay with Lan Fan’s family.” He paused...where was he going with this? Edward rolled over and sat up to look at him, but Ling couldn’t read him. 

“I’m sorry.” Edward said, surprising Ling who had expected some kind of pushback for telling his sob story when Edward was upset. 

“You don’t need to apologize. I’ve accepted it. That’s the Xing way, to accept what you cannot change.” 

“But how can you do that?” 

Ling didn’t think about what he did next, he just did it. Resting his hand on Edward’s shoulder he leaned in and did what he had dreamt about for the past month. He kissed Edward. It tasted salty from the tears that had made their way to his mouth and for the first few seconds Edward’s body was completely tense, making Ling regret doing it. But Edward relaxed soon after and parted his lips slightly in an effort to return the kiss. 

They kissed. Just like that, they kissed. When their lips mingled, it felt electric to Ling and soon he moved his hand to Edward’s cheek. Traced circles in his skin with his thumb. It was Edward who pulled away first. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, but didn’t say anything. Ling didn’t either, just leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. The myriad of second thoughts and embarrassment that would fall upon anyone else after doing something like that were nowhere to be found. 

“Is that how you comfort all your friends?” Edward said.

“Not Lan Fan. She would punch me square in the jaw if I tried to do that.” 

“And what makes you think I won’t?” 

Ling looked over to him and his lips were stretched into a small smile. “Because you would have done it by now.” 

Edward tried to hide his widening smile. “You’re a real idiot, you know that?”


End file.
